Don Cheadle stars in ‘The Guard’

The movie: "The Guard"

When: Opening Friday at local theaters

Cast: Don Cheadle, Brendan Gleeson, Mark Strong

Director: John Michael McDonagh

The story: An unorthodox Irish policeman with a pugnacious personality teams with an uptight FBI agent to investigate an international cocaine-smuggling ring.

The buzz: Writer-director John Michael McDonagh, who makes his feature debut with this Sundance film festival hit, has a one-degree-of-separation connection with Gleeson, whose credits include "In Bruges" and the Oscar-winning short "Six Shooter" -- both of which were written and directed by McDonagh's brother, playwright Martin McDonagh.

-- By Carol Cling